Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra (12 December 1915-14 May 1998) was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. Sinatra was known for his smooth voice and for his charm, and he has been called "the greatest singer of the 20th cetury" by the famous music critic Robert Christgau and an American icon.

Biography
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on 12 December 1915 in a tenement house in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of Italian immigrant boxer Anthony Martin Sinatra and fellow immigrant and Democratic Party activist Dolly Sinatra. He began singing professionally as a singer, and he learned music by ear, never learning to play music. During the 1930s and 1940s, he signed a contract with bandleader Harry James, but he felt that James was preventing him from achieving stardom; he decided to work with Tommy Dorsey afterwards. In 1942, with the help of his American Mafia godfather Willie Moretti, Sinatra was able to escape Dorsey's oppressive contract, and he went on to become a famous singer.

Sinatra evaded the World War II draft because he had a perforated eardrum, and he became active in politics in 1944-1945. He met President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and became an ardent liberal, supporting assistance for the poor. Sinatra was also outspoken against racism against Italians and African-Americans, and he campaigned for Harry S. Truman in 1948 and for Adlai Stevenson II in 1952 and 1956. By the 1950s, he had achieved stardom with songs such as "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Come Fly With Me", and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (among a variety of other Christmas songs), and he performed for several mobsters at casinos and hotels. During the 1960s, he had continued successes with "Strangers in the Night" (a song that he hated), "Fly Me to the Moon", and "My Way", and he would have a few more hits during the 1970s. At the same time as the Civil Rights movement, Sinatra pushed for the desegregation of hotels in Las Vegas, and he supported African-American civil rights. In 1962, he was shunned by President John F. Kennedy due to his organized crime connections, and he chose to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby in Palm Springs, Florida instead. In 1968, Sinatra endorsed Hubert Humphrey for president, and he remained a Democrat until the 1970s. In 1970, he endorsed the incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan for Governor of California, and he became a Republican in 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon's re-election. In 1980, he donated $4,000,000 to Reagan's presidential campaign, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for giving money to the poor.

Sinatra toured the United States and internationally during the 1980s and 1990s, having become an American legend. He was known for his numerous wives and affairs, and he was known as a charmer. In 1997, he received the Congressional Gold Medal, his last major award. He died in Los Angeles, California on 14 May 1998 at the age of 92.